Take It or Leave It Challenge - April 2023 - Page 1

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2023

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Take It or Leave It Challenge - April 2023 - Page 1

1SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 26, 2023, 11:22 pm

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread or this TIOLI FAQS wiki.


...logo by cyderry

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Hey, everyone...

Your TIOLI challenge for April, 2023, is to

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Read a nonfiction book concerning a person about whom you want to learn more
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Rules:
1. Please list the reason you chose this individual when you list the book. Thanks!
2. The focus of the book should concentrate mostly on only one individual. Obviously that person will interact with many people!

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Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. FAMeulstee's 2023 TIOLI Sweeplette Meter
2. FAMeulstee's Our TIOLI Sweeps
3. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges (2010-2016) - A reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating a previous challenge. If your idea is similar to a previous challenge, make it unique by adding a new "twist" to it.
4. The April 2023 TIOLI Meter - Optional page on which you may track your TIOLI reading. Not competitive--- just fun!

2SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 7, 2023, 12:05 am

Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a nonfiction book concerning a person about whom you want to learn more - msg #1
2. Read a book with trees or flowers on the cover or with the name of a tree or flower in the title or author's name - msg #10
3. Read a book with a one word title - msg #3
4. Read a book that has the word “bird” in the title - msg #4
5. Read a NF book about either a specific ocean liner (Titanic, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, Andrea Doria, for example) or ocean liners in general - msg #5
6. Read a book having something to do with age or aging - msg #6

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book that shares at least one word with the first listed title - msg #8
8. Read a book that involves sports - msg #12
9. Read a book with a word/phrase first used in the year you were born in the title, author's name, text, or tag - msg #13
10. Read a book by a female author with a female protagonist - msg #17
11. Read a book by an author of whose oeuvre you have already read 23% - msg #19
12. APRIL SHOWERS rolling challenge - msg #21

Challenge #13
13. Read a book with a 4 in the total number of page - msg #36

Hold your challenge until the May TIOLI challenges are listed.

3quondame
Mar 26, 2023, 9:28 pm

Challenge #3: Read a book with a one word title - started by quondame

No subtitles. Not counting the ubiquitous ": A Novel"

4DeltaQueen50
Mar 26, 2023, 10:32 pm

Challenge #4: Read a book with the word "Bird" in the Title

Only the word bird will work - not a type of bird however, the word bird can be embedded as in Blackbird.

5alcottacre
Mar 26, 2023, 11:16 pm

Challenge #5: The “It’s Unsinkable” Challenge - In remembrance of the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, read a book about either a specific ocean liner (Titanic, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, Andrea Doria, for example) or ocean liners in general. NF only, please.

6Citizenjoyce
Edited: Mar 27, 2023, 12:29 am

Challenge #6: Read a book having something to do with age or aging, name the age group
The book has to specifically be about an age group. A book populated by twenty-somethings wouldn't count unless it was specifically mentioned that they were twenty-somethings. A blurb on the front or back cover of the book with such a mention or an official review (from a publication) would count.
I'll be reading Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

7Citizenjoyce
Edited: Apr 30, 2023, 7:17 pm

My planned reads, it's easy to find too many books this month.
Challenge #1: Read a nonfiction book concerning a person about whom you want to learn more - started by SqueakyChu
Bad Mormon: A Memoir by Heather Gay (4)
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner (4)
Hello Molly - Molly Shannon
Not My Father's Son: A Memoir - Alan Cumming (3.5)
*✔The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd - Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5)
Challenge #2: Read a book with trees or flowers on the cover or with the name of a tree or flower in the title or author's name - started by wandering_star
The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature - Peter Wohlleben (4)
The Island of Missing Trees - Elif Shafak (3.5)
Challenge #3: Read a book with a one word title - started by quondame
*Glory - NoViolet Bulawayo
*Hild - Nicola Griffith
*✔Matilda - Roald Dahl (2)
Surfacing - Kathleen Jamie
*✔Trust by Hernan Diaz (4)
Challenge #4: Read a book that has the word “bird” in the title - started by DeltaQueen
*✔The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think - Jennifer Ackerman (5)
Challenge #5: The “It’s Unsinkable” Challenge - In remembrance of the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, read a book about either a specific ocean liner (Titanic, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, Andrea Doria, for example) or ocean liners in general. NF only, please- started by AlcottAcre
*✔The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria: The Sinking of the World's Most Glamorous Ship - Greg King and Penny Wilson (5)
Challenge #6: Read a book having something to do with age or aging, name the age group - started by Citizenjoyce
Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life -Sharon Blackie (4)
*✔Killers of a Certain Age - Deanna Raybourn (4)
Challenge #7: Read a book that shares at least one word with the first listed title - started by helenliz
*✔The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty (3.5)
The Book of Form and Emptiness - Ruth Ozeki
Challenge #8: Read a book that involves sports- started by lindapanzo
Shoot Minnie Shoot : The Story of the 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Girls/ Basketball's First World Champions - Happy Jack Feder (3.5)
Challenge #9: Read a book with a word/phrase first used in the year you were born in the title, author's name, text, or tag - started by Morphidae
The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings - Trudy Scott
*✔The Right to Sex - Amia Srinivasan (4)
Challenge #10: Read a book by a female author with a female protagonist - started by lyzard
In Five Years - Rebecca Serle (4)
In Nightfall by Suzanne Young (4)
The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood (3.5)
Challenge #11: Read a book by an author of whose oeuvre you have already read 23% - started by Chatterbox
*✔The Tale Teller - Anne Hillerman (3.5)
Challenge #12: APRIL SHOWERS rolling challenge (word in title or author's name) - started by susanna.fraser
Genesis: Book One of the Genesis Trilogy - Layton Green (3)
The House Is On Fire - Rachel Beanland (4.5)
The Revivalists: A Novel - Christopher M. HOOD (4)
✔When the Angels Left the Old Country - Sacha Lamb (4)
Challenge #13: Read a book with a 4 in the total number of pages - started by FAMeulstee
Big Lies in a Small Town - Diane Chamberlain (5)
Lone Women by Victor LaValle (4)

8Helenliz
Edited: Mar 27, 2023, 3:03 am

Challenge #7 Read a book that shares at least one word with the first listed title

This month we're going to play a book title version of Wordle. In the popular game, you have to guess a 5 letter word, with your guess being assigned a green square for the right letter in the right place and a yellow square for the right letter in the wrong place. This is a book version of that, with letters being replaced with words from my starter title and looking at word placement in your title.

The starter title is The Case of the Late Pig. Your title must have a minimum of 1 word in common with that title. You will then score your book against my starter title.

Score scheme:
Your title has a matching word, but not in the same word position will score 1 point
Your title has a matching word in the same word position will score 2 points.

The minimum number of points is 1, the maximum will be 12.

Some examples, as they may help.
The Case of the Late Pig
Case Histories
In this example, the word "case" is matched, but in the wrong place. This would score 1 point.

The Case of the Late Pig
Lord Of the Flies
Of: matching word in the wrong position 1 point
The: matching word in the wrong position 1 point
Total 2 points

The Case of the Late Pig
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The: Matching word in matched position – 2 points
Case: matching word in the wrong position 1 point
Of: matching word in the wrong position 1 point
Total 4 points

The Case of the Late Pig
The Case of the Missing Books
The: Matching word in matched position – 2 points
Case: Matching word in matched position – 2 points
of: Matching word in matched position – 2 points
The: Matching word in matched position – 2 points
Total 8 points

I hope that's enough examples for you to see what's going on.

Some possible questions:
Does my title have to have 6 words? no your title can be as short or as long as you like
What if my matched word is word is #7 in the title? You can include that and score a 1.
What if I have the same matched word more than once? (title contains "of" twice, for example) You may only count the first occurrence of a word when calculating your points.
Are shared reads allowed? Yes, you may share a read with my starter word (Liz...) and you may share a read with a listed book - but you don't get any more points for that kind of matched read.
Can the word be embedded? Piglet instead of Pig? No. Needs to be the word as it appears in the starter title.

Please, if you can, list your titles in the wiki in descending points order.
Any questions, please ask!

9wandering_star
Mar 27, 2023, 6:56 am

>8 Helenliz: I thought I would definitely be able to find a high-scoring word in my library but no - I have lots of "the strange case" and "the curious case" but no simple "the case of..." books.

10wandering_star
Mar 27, 2023, 6:58 am

Challenge #2: Read a book with trees or flowers on the cover or with the name of a tree or flower in the title or author's name

April is Earth Month, and here in Japan almost every conversation starts with talking about the state of the cherry blossom (in full bloom at the end of last week and into this one) - and after that we will be into wisteria season, then azalea season, and so on - so flowers and plants are at the front of my mind!

11Helenliz
Mar 27, 2023, 7:20 am

>9 wandering_star: at least you'll be able to find a fit, even if it doesn't score highly. *evil laugh*

12lindapanzo
Edited: Mar 27, 2023, 12:24 pm

Challenge #8: Read a book that involves sports

April is my favorite sports month of the year when, along with October, my two favorite sports are going full tilt. Major league baseball starts again, bringing the hope of a new season. The NHL playoff starts, too, and normally, I'm excited about my team being in the playoffs, though, this year, I'm hoping that they finish at the bottom and have a good chance at snagging Connor Bedard, perhaps a once in a generation player.

Normally, for a sports challenge, I'd insist on sports playing a key role in the book (and personally, I'd be focusing on sports-related biographies or history). However, after looking at the "list of sports," I think it'd be fun to see what kind of oddball sports people can come up with too.

So, in short, please use sports in this list: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports

If a character participates in a sport, such as backgammon, or any other relatively minor mention of sport, that's OK.

When you list your book, please list the sport as well.

13Morphidae
Mar 27, 2023, 1:15 pm

Challenge #9: Read a book with a word/phrase first used in the year you were born in the title, author's name, text, or tag


STILL EDITING

Please state the year on the wiki* and use the word/phrase list from https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/ .

For the title and author's name, the word/phrass can be embedded. For tags and text, the word/phrase must be exact.

Cafe by Cedi


* The list goes back to 1500. If you wish to read more than one book, you can stick with your birth year or use a list with the same last two digits.

That is, for example, if you were born in 1965, AFTER posting a book for 1965, you can chose a book for a word from 1865, 1765, 1665, or 1565.

If you don't want to use your own birth year, feel free to use a family member's or friends.

14Morphidae
Mar 27, 2023, 1:51 pm

Challenge #9: Read a book with a word/phrase first used in the year you were born in the title, author's name, text, or tag


STILL EDITING

Please state the year on the wiki* and use the word/phrase list from https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/ .

For the title and author's name, the word/phrass can be embedded. For tags and text, the word/phrase must be exact.

Examples for 1965:

Cafe by Babi Cedillo
Tell Me I'm Yours by J. S. Scott (wiped out, pg 32)

* The list goes back to 1500. If you wish to read more than one book, you can stick with your birth year or use a list with the same last two digits.

That is, for example, if you were born in 1965, AFTER posting a book for 1965, you can chose a book for a word from 1865, 1765, 1665, or 1565.

If you don't want to use your own birth year, feel free to use a family member's or friends.

15Morphidae
Edited: Mar 27, 2023, 6:09 pm

Challenge #9: Read a book with a word/phrase first used in the year you were born in the title, author's name, text, or tag


STILL EDITING

Please state the year on the wiki* and use the word/phrase list from https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/.

For the title and author's name, the word/phrase can be embedded. For tags and text, the word/phrase must be exact. The exceptions are singles/plurals and verb derivatives, e.g. bikini wax/bikini waxes (1973), (1946), geek out/geeks out/geeking out (1990), or verbs turned into nouns home school/home schooled (1980) which are acceptable.

Examples for 1965:

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Cafe by Babi Cedillo
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Tell Me I'm Yours by (wiped out, pg 32) J. S. Scott

* The list goes back to 1500. If you wish to read more than one book, you can stick with your birth year or use a list with the same last two digits.

That is, for example, if you were born in 1965, AFTER posting a book for 1965, you can chose another word/phrase from 1965 or for a word/phrase from 1865, 1765, 1665, or 1565.

*************

If you don't want to use your own birth year, feel free to use a family member's or friends.

*************

HOW TO FIND BOOKS

16countrylife
Mar 27, 2023, 2:09 pm

>14 Morphidae: Can you give some hints as to how to find books with the phrases we're seeking?

17lyzard
Mar 27, 2023, 4:56 pm

After a couple of rule-bound challenges, something more general:

Challenge #10:

Read a book by a female author with a female protagonist


If a book (for e.g.) focuses on a female / male couple, that would qualify as long as the female character is given "lead character" weight in the text.

I will also allow non-fiction works about a woman (but not "women" unless there is a focus person).

18Morphidae
Mar 27, 2023, 5:05 pm

>16 countrylife: Sure will! Might not be today but I'll give it my best.

19Chatterbox
Edited: Mar 27, 2023, 11:46 pm

Challenge #11: Read a book by an author of whose oeuvre you've already read at least 23%

(Clearly, I've been spending too much time studying Morphy's ultra-complex challenges...)

But this one is easier than it looks and involves only rudimentary math skills.

Pick a book by an author you've already read. Then, in LT, click on the author's name. Up will come mini-profiles of authors of that name. Make sure you've got the correct person! Then, look at how many DISTINCT BOOKS are listed in their mini-profile as having been written by them: their oeuvre. (If it's too difficult to get an accurate count on LT, feel free to use Wikipedia.) Let's say they have just published their fifth novel, but you've only read one. (please note: these are not books you possess, but ones you actually have READ.) You have read 20% of their books, and so you cannot count the one you're contemplating for this challenge (unless as a shared read). If you've read two of those other books, congrats: you've read 40%, and you're good to go ahead and post this.

Please note the percentage or ratio; there are percentage calculators online. Nope, you don't have share titles and links of other books by the same author.)

An alternative way of tackling TBR mountains and backlogs of series books, as well as doing a bit of comfort reading.

Yes, shared reads are fine. Yes, it's fine to re-read a book. Yes, even if you've read 100% of an author's books, you can do a re-read. Just in case: be sure to take a look to make sure there are no titles duplicated. In some cases, UK and North American editions carry different actual titles, but it's the same book and LT folks may not yet have "disambiguated" them. Also, it's possible that a translated book may appear under one title in its original version and a different one in translation.

20cbl_tn
Mar 27, 2023, 10:17 pm

>19 Chatterbox: I will be re-reading an Agatha Christie in April. It's nearly impossible to get an accurate count of her works from her LT page. Wikipedia lists the number of works she produced in various genres, so I used that total. I did not count poems or broadcast works in the total, but I did include plays, collected works, and an edited work. In either case, I've read more than half of her works.

21susanna.fraser
Mar 27, 2023, 11:24 pm

Challenge #12: APRIL SHOWERS rolling challenge (word in title or author's name)

A rolling challenge to help me accept the fact that April is still a very rainy month in Seattle and I need to be patient with it.

You don't have to fill in the challenge letters in order, but you have to complete one set before you can start a new one.

22Chatterbox
Mar 27, 2023, 11:48 pm

>20 cbl_tn: Wikipedia is fine as an alternative for incredibly prolific authors with lots of editions, anthologies, etc.

If anyone struggles with how to figure out what books to include -- anything printed in book format. If you're looking at a Shakespeare play, don't include things like big Shakespeare anthologies; just use the total # of individual plays.

In other words: looking for %age of books by title, not %age of all published material or %age of all editions.

23Morphidae
Mar 28, 2023, 3:41 am

I can't get into the wiki...

This site can’t be reached

wiki.librarything.com’s server IP address could not be found.
Try:
Checking the connection
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

24Morphidae
Edited: Mar 28, 2023, 3:54 am

>19 Chatterbox: Okay, what do I do with an author like Mercedes Lackey? I managed to count about 132 books I've read of ???. A lot past that are short stories.

Can I just use "lots"? 😄

25Chatterbox
Mar 28, 2023, 11:25 am

>24 Morphidae: A brief Google search told me the current number of books is about 170, so feel free to use that number.

>4 DeltaQueen50: Is having "bird" in the subtitle OK?

26DeltaQueen50
Mar 28, 2023, 2:10 pm

>25 Chatterbox: Yes, "Bird" in the subtitle works.

27SqueakyChu
Mar 28, 2023, 3:19 pm

>23 Morphidae: Can you still not get into the wiki? I just got in.

28lindapanzo
Mar 29, 2023, 11:27 am

>5 alcottacre: Stasia, does the book have to be about an ocean liner? Or can it be about a ship that sank? I'm thinking of the SS Eastland, which sank in the Chicago River in 1915, killing more than 800 people.

29alcottacre
Mar 29, 2023, 2:02 pm

>28 lindapanzo: Yes, I am referring to ocean liners in particular for this challenge, Linda, not ships that sank like the Eastland. Sorry!

30lindapanzo
Mar 30, 2023, 11:53 am

>29 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. I think I've read everything I'll ever want to read about the Titanic but I'll look for something on the Lusitania or the Andrea Doria.

31alcottacre
Mar 30, 2023, 1:10 pm

>30 lindapanzo: Erik Larsen's book on the Lusitania, Dead Wake, is one that I can recommend if you have not read it.

32lindapanzo
Mar 30, 2023, 1:47 pm

>31 alcottacre: I have read it. I knew that I've missed one of his books but the one I've missed is the Churchill book during WW2.

I'm thinking of the Andrea Doria because I've never read anything about that ship.

33alcottacre
Mar 31, 2023, 12:15 pm

>32 lindapanzo: I thought you probably had read the Larsen book, but thought I would mention it just in case.

34Chatterbox
Mar 31, 2023, 11:18 pm

>31 alcottacre: I'm going to do a re-read of Dead Wake for this challenge; that's how good it was. I'd read fiction about the Titanic, but that's about it.

35alcottacre
Apr 1, 2023, 12:39 am

>34 Chatterbox: I completely agree about how good Dead Wake was, Suzanne! I very much enjoy Larson's nonfiction.

36FAMeulstee
Edited: Apr 2, 2023, 7:34 am

Challenge #13: Read a book with a 4 in the total number of pages

Self serving, creating a place for the last two books I planned for April.
This they had in common, and appropriate, as April is the 4th month :-)

37alcottacre
Apr 6, 2023, 7:45 pm

Is anyone besides me adding more books to the challenges this month since there are only 13? Lol

38JND-m
Apr 6, 2023, 7:51 pm

>1 SqueakyChu: Currently I'm reading a book consisting of only Napoleon Bonaparte and all of his letters, diary entries, etc., I found this book at an old library close to my home and took it home. (it was going to be given away anyways) I forgot the title and don't have it near me currently. ( T . T )

39Matke
Apr 7, 2023, 7:36 am

>37 alcottacre: I am, Stasia. I don’t think I’ve ever had four books under one challenge before!

40bell7
Apr 7, 2023, 8:28 am

>37 alcottacre: Well, I hadn't been, but your post reminded me that I hadn't finished going through the challenges and finding what books from my library stack fit what challenge, so now I probably have more listed than I will actually read hahaha. I still couldn't find a place for the two graphic novels and one of the poetry books I have on the stack, but I managed to find a challenge for most of the books I want to read!

41alcottacre
Apr 7, 2023, 9:45 am

>39 Matke: First time for everything, right?

>40 bell7: Having more books listed than I will actually read happens to me all the time, Mary, so you are not alone there!

Next month we must do better people!! :)


42Citizenjoyce
Apr 7, 2023, 12:27 pm

>40 bell7: It feels so good when books you already wanted to read fit into challenges.

43lindapanzo
Edited: Apr 7, 2023, 2:47 pm

>7 Citizenjoyce: Joyce, for your challenge on age or aging, I would recommend the three Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club mysteries. These would be excellent choices for your challenge as the sleuths are a quartet of retired seniors living in an upscale retirement village.

Every Thursday, they meet to try to solve cold cases, with these 70-somethings using the talents from their careers to help solve the crimes. One was in the secret service, one was a nurse, one a psychiatrist, and one a trade union leader.

The first in the series is The Thursday Murder Club

44Citizenjoyce
Apr 7, 2023, 4:06 pm

>43 lindapanzo: My daughter loves something that sounds like the Thursday Murder Club but I thought it was by James Patterson, and I thought it was about younger women. I wonder what it was.

45lindapanzo
Apr 7, 2023, 5:08 pm

>44 Citizenjoyce: The Osman books are among the funniest mysteries I've read but they're also clever, especially as to the woman who had been a spy.

I think Steven Spielberg bought the film rights to the books. If they do go forward, Helen Mirren must be the retired spy.

46lyzard
Apr 7, 2023, 5:54 pm

>44 Citizenjoyce:

That would be the "Women's Murder Club", which was also turned into a TV series.

47Citizenjoyce
Edited: Apr 8, 2023, 1:19 am

>45 lindapanzo: I'll have to check them out. ETA I just checked Libby, it'll be 9 weeks until I can get it.
>46 lyzard: There you go. That's what she likes and I won't watch. I don't like the idea of a writing stable

48Morphidae
Edited: Apr 9, 2023, 3:10 am

>15 Morphidae: >16 countrylife: For challenge #9, the biggest help to finding words/phrases in text, if you don't have an ereader, is Google Books.

https://books.google.com/

EDIT: Also, Advanced Search for Google Books - this was pretty nifty. You put in a word/phrase and it spits out book titles. Be sure to search for All Books; Content: Books; Language: English, Swedish, etc.; and I put Fiction in Subject since I typically prefer novels to nonfiction.

https://books.google.com/advanced_book_search

I'll also open up a thread so people can source others' ebooks. For instance, I have access to a LOT of ebooks not just ones personally but because our library system has a huge selection.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/350006#8114667

49Helenliz
Apr 11, 2023, 2:09 pm

I doubt this happens too often. I've entered a book with the same title as one already listed in the wiki - but it's no shared read, we have different authors.
I added mine below, because I was second to add the title.

50SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 18, 2023, 10:19 pm

TIOLI Question of the Month:

Spring has come to my area, and that makes me happy. Keeps me in a good mood. Tell me something about any book you've read this month that should put a smile on my face. Thanks!

51Chatterbox
Apr 19, 2023, 8:59 am

>50 SqueakyChu: Two memoirs that I read, both by women age 40 or beyond, about how exploring relationships with other species ended up causing them to redefine their own lives and priorities -- in other words, what opening our minds to new things can bring about.

The first is a just-released book by a friend, Rona Maynard, Starter Dog, about the wondrous Casey, the eponymous doggy dog of the title. The other is something that I picked up in a Kindle sale a little while back after other LT folks warbled about it: Field Notes From an Unintentional Birder by Julia Zarankin. Coincidentally, both authors are from Toronto so in both cases it was kind of fun to revisit a landscape that I used to know well through new eyes.

52SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 19, 2023, 3:53 pm

>51 Chatterbox: They sound great, Suz. I'm a lapsed birder so the second one sounds especially inviting to read. Totronto is very dear to me as well, but just because we were able to visit a good friend there a few years ago. You might know her by the name of jessibud2. :D

53jeanned
Apr 19, 2023, 3:41 pm

>50 SqueakyChu: Mordant humor seems to be a happy spot for me right now. At least, I've enjoyed it in The Maid and Slow Horses.

My husband will be happy because I've all but stopped watching TV with him, but now I'd like to watch the adaptation of Slow Horses. Should be lots of fun.

54SqueakyChu
Apr 19, 2023, 10:07 pm

TIOLI STATS for March, 2023:

For March, 2023, we read a total of 309 books, the lowest monthly total since November, 2021. We had 51 shared reads or 17% - which was fine. We collected 28 TIOLI points for a March YTD total of 112 TIOLI points, the lowest since March, 2021.

The most popular book, read by 5 challengers, was Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The most popular challenge, with 68 books, was the one by lindapanzo to read a book which you did not purchase.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points, 5 of them, was the one by quondame to read a book with a word dividable into two words in the title.

Ever onward, folks...

55SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 19, 2023, 10:14 pm

Here are some fun statistics looking back into our own history.

1. We have been doing the TIOLI challenges together since January, 2010 - over thirteen years! (I was so young when we started doing this!)
2. That first time we only had 7 challenges and 80 books read, but we had 43% of those as shared reads!
3. Our very first "most popular book" was Soulless by Gail Carriger with 6 readers.

56avatiakh
Apr 20, 2023, 12:08 am

>50 SqueakyChu: I haven't read much this month. A BB from Suzanne was The Rose Revived which gave me a few laughs along the way.
I'm now reading The Car Share which is quite funny at times though the writing is not stellar at all. Two unlikely strangers sharing a car ride to Belgium both decide to turn the other's life around.

57Citizenjoyce
Apr 20, 2023, 7:49 pm

>50 SqueakyChu: It looks like the bird challenge brought another favorite. The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman is amazing. I found out that some birds flock around the edges of bushfires to dine on all the fleeing rodents and snakes, then when that meal runs out they pick up an ember to drop it elsewhere starting another fire for fresh meat. I also read how the size of a bird's brain has little to say about its intelligence because it packs more neurons into the space available, and some birds seem to reason on the level of a young child. Some birds have a great sense of smell, in spite of what Darwin told us. And some are such crazy players that they'll actually uninstall a satellite dish just for fun. (Fun for them, not so much fun for the homeowner.)

58susanna.fraser
Apr 20, 2023, 7:59 pm

>51 Chatterbox: I've added Field Notes From an Unintentional Birder to my library For Later list, since it sounds right up my alley.

59SqueakyChu
Apr 20, 2023, 9:38 pm

>57 Citizenjoyce: Interesting bird info! I’ll need to start feeding them again, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying their antics in our three birdbaths! :)

60Citizenjoyce
Apr 21, 2023, 2:46 am

>59 SqueakyChu: I love feeding the Red Wing Blackbirds all winter. The females get here first then the males. The males leave quite early, but the females hang around until spring, some are still here. It's about time for me to cut back on feeding. The mulberry trees are fruiting. That's my cue to cut back on the birdseed budget.

61wandering_star
Apr 21, 2023, 7:53 pm

>53 jeanned: We just watched the first season of Slow Horses and it was very good.

62Citizenjoyce
Edited: Apr 22, 2023, 4:32 pm

In honor of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd I'm listening to the soundtrack from one of my favorite movies, The Pirates of Penzance. What a happy lot of pirates.

63jeanned
Apr 22, 2023, 9:06 pm

>61 wandering_star: I could do with something other than Big Bang reruns. :)

64SqueakyChu
Apr 24, 2023, 9:11 pm

The March 2023 TIOLI Awards

The More Such Libraries Award goes to paulstalder for reading Live! for the challenge by lindapanzo to read a book which you did not purchase. Our challenge’s book came from a public bookshelf. As I am the owner of a Little Free Library, I couldn’t help but give out this award as a good marketing strategy for these wonderful sources of free books for everyone.

The Humility Award goes to quondame for reading Why is Nothing Ever Simple? for the challenge by cbl_tn to read a book with a word meaning "all" or "nothing" in the title or author's name. This challenger had a book which was the only one out of 18 books listed not to have the word “all” or a synonym of that word in the title.

The Freedom to Read Award goes to avatiakh for the challenge to read a book that has been criticised, banned or burnt. In this new era of unwarranted book censorship, this is a most important value.

The Give Africa a Chance Award goes to PaulCranswick for the challenge to read a debut adult novel by an author born in Africa. I like that this challenge gives us the impetus to read more books by African authors.

Congrats to our award winners! Fee free at this time to post awards of your own.

65avatiakh
Apr 25, 2023, 6:26 pm

>64 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the Freedom Award, I got quite caught up in the ideals behind this challenge.
I recently came across an article about Alice's Book: How the Nazis Stole My Grandmother's Cookbook by Karina Urbach. There were books that the Nazis didn't burn but they erased the original author from the book instead.

66countrylife
Apr 28, 2023, 11:48 am

I'm not entirely sure if I played Challenge #7 correctly (Read a book that shares at least one word with the first listed title - started by helenliz), as these books aren't listed there alphabetically, so don't know if I missed a rule or something. But if my entry is acceptable, then ... Thanks to a short list of challenges and my books coming through at the library with good timing.
... I have a SWEEP!

67Helenliz
Apr 28, 2023, 12:07 pm

>66 countrylife: Books are listed alphabetically by the number of points they score, as explained in >8 Helenliz:.
Your title is valid, but you'd badly mis-scored it. I've corrected that.

In which case well done on the sweep!

68countrylife
Apr 28, 2023, 1:31 pm

Thank you, Helenliz!

69SqueakyChu
Apr 28, 2023, 1:32 pm

>66 countrylife:. Hearty congrats on the SWEEP!!

70FAMeulstee
Apr 28, 2023, 1:45 pm

>66 countrylife: Congratulations, Cindy!

71Citizenjoyce
Apr 28, 2023, 5:21 pm

>66 countrylife: Congratulations on the sweep. These challenges can be quite challenging, can't they?

72Kristelh
Apr 28, 2023, 7:06 pm

Congrats, Cindy, on your sweep.

73alcottacre
Apr 28, 2023, 7:27 pm

>66 countrylife: Woo Hoo!! Congratulations, Cindy!

74lyzard
Apr 28, 2023, 10:06 pm

Well done, Cindy! :)

75alcottacre
Edited: Apr 29, 2023, 10:21 pm

Well, I managed to finish the two books today that I needed for a sweep. I still have 2 others that I want to finish before the month is out though :)

ETA: It felt good to be back in the saddle again in April after completely missing out on the TIOLI challenges in March!

76Citizenjoyce
Apr 30, 2023, 12:11 am

77quondame
Apr 30, 2023, 12:57 am

>75 alcottacre: Congratulations!

78alcottacre
Apr 30, 2023, 1:22 am

>76 Citizenjoyce: Cute, Joyce :)

>77 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

79FAMeulstee
Apr 30, 2023, 6:11 am

>75 alcottacre: Congratulations, Stasia!

--
We had a sweeping TIOLI month, 6 sweeps :-)

80alcottacre
Apr 30, 2023, 12:54 pm

>79 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Go, us!!

81SqueakyChu
Apr 30, 2023, 6:09 pm

>79 FAMeulstee: We had a sweeping TIOLI month, 6 sweeps

Wow! Congrats to all the sweepers!

82SqueakyChu
Apr 30, 2023, 6:10 pm

Yep...It's HOUSEKEEPING DAY!

Please remove from the April wiki any books you do not finish by 12 midnight tonight...or mark them DNF (did not finish) if they are part of a rolling challenge. Thank you.